Fire doors are one of the most important parts of a building’s fire safety measures. When installed, maintained and used correctly, they help slow the spread of fire and smoke, protect escape routes and give people more time to leave the building safely.
Fire doors are life-saving equipment for any property, and they are heavily regulated under The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety Order) 2005, which makes fire door installation and routine maintenance mandatory in all commercial and HMO properties.
Because of this, understanding fire door requirements is essential for landlords, property managers, managing agents and responsible persons. So, whether you manage flats, commercial premises, workplaces, hotels, HMOs or mixed-use buildings, Absolute Property Surveys is on a mission to ensure that fire doors are properly installed and kept in effective working order.
In this guide, we explain key fire door rules, where fire doors are needed and what property managers should check as part of wider fire safety compliance.
Why are fire doors important?
A fire door is designed to resist fire and smoke for a set period of time (this is often referred to as the fire door time rating, such as FD30 or FD60, depending on the door’s specification), but why are they important? In real-world terms, fire doors help to:
- Protect escape routes
- Separate higher-risk areas
- Slow the spread of smoke and flames
- Support evacuation
- Protect residents, employees, visitors and contractors
- Support the building’s fire strategy
- Help responsible persons meet fire safety duties
All of these functions come together to save lives and protect properties from excessive fire damage.
Fire door regulations UK: who is responsible?
In business and other non-domestic premises, the ‘Responsible Person’ is legally accountable for fire safety. This may include an employer, owner, landlord, occupier, facilities manager, building manager or managing agent.
For managed residential buildings, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 introduced specific duties for Responsible Persons. These include providing residents with information about fire doors and, in multi-occupied residential buildings above 11 metres, undertaking best endeavour annual checks of flat entrance doors and quarterly checks of communal fire doors.
In simple terms, this confirms that fire door compliance is not a one-off task for those responsible for property maintenance. Instead, fiire doors should be considered as part of your fire risk assessment, ongoing inspections and maintenance programme.
Where are fire doors needed?
The exact requirements for fire doors depend on the building type, use, layout and fire strategy. This is why a fire risk assessment is important.
Fire doors are commonly required in areas such as:
- Escape routes and corridors
- Stairwells
- Flat entrance doors
- Doors between garages and homes
- Doors to plant rooms, electrical cupboards or service risers
- Doors separating higher-risk rooms
- Doors between commercial and residential parts of mixed-use buildings
- Hotel bedrooms and corridors
- Communal areas in blocks of flats
- Workplaces where compartmentation or escape route protection is needed
If you are unsure where fire doors are required in your building, the safest approach is to arrange a professional fire risk assessment or fire door inspection.
When is a fire door required?
A fire door may be required where a door forms part of the building’s mandatory fire protection measures. This could be to protect an escape route, separate a high-risk area, maintain compartmentation or support a stay-put or evacuation strategy.
For example, fire doors are often required in blocks of flats to protect communal corridors and stairwells. In workplaces, they may be required to protect escape routes or separate areas with higher fire risk. In hotels and guest accommodation, fire doors are particularly important because occupants may be asleep or unfamiliar with the building layout.
There is no single answer that applies to every property. Fire door requirements should be based on the property’s design, building regulations, fire strategy and fire risk assessment.
Fire doors in residential properties
Fire door requirements in houses and flats depend on the property’s type and layout.
In residential blocks, flat entrance doors and communal fire doors are critical because they help protect shared escape routes. Responsible persons must also provide residents with information about fire doors, including that fire doors should be kept shut when not in use, that self-closing devices should not be tampered with and that any fault or damage should be reported immediately.
In houses, HMOs and converted buildings, fire door requirements may depend on the number of storeys, risk level, escape routes and whether the property is being used as a single dwelling, rental property or shared accommodation.
Landlords and managing agents should not guess. Fire door requirements residential properties need to be reviewed properly, especially where the building has communal areas, multiple occupants or sleeping accommodation.
Fire doors in hotels and care settings
Fire doors in hotels, guest houses, care settings and other sleeping accommodation are especially important. People may be asleep, unfamiliar with the building or slower to respond in an emergency.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 required that sleeping accommodation, including holiday lets, hotels and single-let rental properties, should include self-closing fire doors in all bedrooms. Corridors and staircases, as well as communal areas and kitchens where relevant.
In cases of care facilities, the Care Home Regulations Act (2001) requires care home property managers to provide adequate provision for fire safety for all residents, including fire alarms, extinguishers and fire doors.
If you are unsure, a suitable fire risk assessment should identify whether the fire doors are appropriate for the building and whether any repairs, upgrades or replacements are needed.
Should fire doors open inwards or outwards?
The opening direction of a fire door and its impact on safety is a common question for many landlords and property managers responsible for fire safety. Whether a fire door should open inwards or outwards depends on its location, purpose and the building’s escape strategy.
Many internal fire doors open in the normal direction of travel within a building. In escape routes, especially where larger numbers of people may need to evacuate quickly, doors may need to open in the direction of escape.
The important point is that fire doors must support safe movement and maintain the required fire protection. If there is any doubt, the door should be assessed as part of the fire risk assessment or a specialist fire door inspection.
How Fire doors must be maintained
Fire doors can only do their job if they are kept in good condition. Wear and tear, tenant damage, poor repairs, contractor alterations and day-to-day use can all affect performance.
Fire doors should not be:
- Wedged open
- Damaged or altered without assessment
- Fitted with unsuitable hardware
- Left with missing seals
- Painted over in a way that affects seals or labels
- Ignored after faults are reported
For workplaces, the UK regulations advise that fire doors should be regularly maintained and should not be wedged open at any time.
For managed residential buildings, residents should also be told to report damage or faults to the responsible person as soon as possible.
Fire door rules for property managers
Building regulations may require fire doors in certain locations, particularly where compartmentation, escape route protection or separation between higher-risk areas is needed.
However, building regulations and ongoing fire safety duties are not the same thing. A building may have complied with regulations when it was built, but fire doors can become damaged, altered or unsuitable over time.
That is why existing buildings need regular review through fire risk assessments, fire door inspections and maintenance records.
A practical approach may include:
- Reviewing fire doors as part of the fire risk assessment
- Keeping an up-to-date record of fire doors
- Carrying out routine visual checks
- Arranging professional inspections where needed
- Recording defects and actions taken
- Repairing or replacing damaged doors promptly
- Keeping communal fire doors clear and accessible
- Providing fire door information to residents where required
- Making sure contractors use suitable fire-rated products
- Reviewing fire door arrangements after building changes or refurbishment work
This helps demonstrate that fire door responsibilities are being actively managed.
How Absolute Property Surveys can help fire door compliance
At Absolute Property Surveys, we support landlords, managing agents, property managers and responsible persons with practical fire safety services.
Our team can help you understand your fire door requirements, identify defects and take the right steps to improve compliance.
We can support with:
At Absolute Property Surveys, health and safety is not something we dip in and out of; it is part of how we work every day. Whether we are on site, carrying out surveys, or supporting clients with compliance, doing things properly matters.
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